A brighter picture in Ireland

Wednesday, 01 September 2010

The Irish transport market had a good first half this year, after a difficult 2009, with container and ro-ro export volumes up on the previous period, write Katerina Kerr & Damian Brett.

According data from the Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO), shipping volumes on the key Irish trade corridors stabilised over the first six months of 2010.

The IMDO said the figures pointed towards trade volume growth in three of the principal freight segments – most significantly, lo-lo export volumes, estimated to have grown by 5%, year-on-year.

Ro-ro exports were also up 5% on an all-island basis, while dry bulk volumes through the Republic’s ports increased by 15% for the first six months, compared with the same period last year.

Shipments in April saw the strongest monthly volume of bulk cargo in more than two years.

Overall, ro-ro traffic on an all-Island basis “continued to make a steady recovery”, with an increase of 2%, to 771,585 units.

While combined import and export volumes were down 1% year-on-year, at 517,552 units, this was a “significant change”, compared with the same period last year, when volumes declined 24%.

Glenn Murphy, Director of the IMDO, said: “A key factor in the positive upward movement has been the continued strong performance of export volumes, which were up 5%, year on year.

“Imports were down 2%, which was largely as a result of continued weak domestic demand.

“Nonetheless, the rate of decline in import volumes has eased sharply, which is possibly also offset by demand for industrial imports used as inputs for the export trades.”

He added: “The sharp fall in imports over the last 24 months has, inversely, created a problem for export companies, as there is now reduced supply of export-quality containers available in Ireland.

“As a result, shipping lines have to reposition empty containers from the UK and the Continent, which, in turn, adds to the overall cost of the export box.”